Foundation Fighting Blindness Celebrates Bennett, Maguire, and High’s Breakthrough Prize for Revolutionary Gene Therapy

Foundation Fighting Blindness proudly celebrates Dr. Jean Bennett, who won the prestigious 2026 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, awarded to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Penn Medicine team for developing the first FDA-approved gene therapy for an inherited retinal disease. Dr. Bennett, along with her husband, Dr. Albert Maguire, and collaborator Dr. Katherine High, received this $3 million award for their groundbreaking work that led to LUXTURNA® (voretigene neparvovec-rzyl), the gene therapy that treats RPE65 mutation-associated retinal diseases.

This international recognition comes as no surprise to the Foundation Fighting Blindness community. In 2020, Dr. Bennett received the Foundation's highest honor, the Llura Liggett Gund Award, recognizing her as a professional whose "outstanding dedication and contribution to vision research has generated a significant and fundamental impact upon retinal degenerative disease research."

The Llura Liggett Gund Award recognized the same groundbreaking contributions now being celebrated globally through the Breakthrough Prize. Dr. Bennett's unwavering commitment to intellect, experience, and energy has sped up progress toward treatments and cures, bringing renewed hope to millions of people worldwide living with a blinding disease.

Dr. Bennett's work represents more than scientific achievement – it represents the possibility of restoring vision and changing lives. Her research transformed gene therapy from a theoretical possibility into a life-changing treatment, demonstrating that vision could be restored in patients with progressive blindness and fundamentally changing how the medical community approaches inherited retinal diseases.

Foundation Fighting Blindness has supported Dr. Bennett's groundbreaking research from its earliest stages. In 1991, Dr. Bennett received a Foundation career development award, enabling her and Dr. Maguire to develop in vivo gene therapy techniques. Data from those pioneering studies secured a larger National Eye Institute grant to advance gene therapies for retinal diseases.

The Foundation's continued support included funding the Phase I/IIa studies at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia that led to the development of LUXTURNA®. These early positive results played a crucial role in establishing Spark Therapeutics. Through strategic grant funding, research collaboration, and advocacy spanning three decades, the Foundation worked alongside Dr. Bennett to accelerate laboratory discoveries into clinical treatments – exemplifying how sustained investment yields transformative results.

Dr. Bennett's success with RPE65-associated blindness has paved the way for gene therapies targeting other inherited retinal diseases. Her commitment extends beyond her own research – she currently serves as a director on the RD Fund board, Foundation Fighting Blindness' venture philanthropy arm, guiding strategic investments in breakthrough therapies.

“Dr. Bennett’s recognition with both our Llura Liggett Gund Award and now the Breakthrough Prize reflects the extraordinary impact of decades of dedication to advancing treatments and cures,” said Jason Menzo, CEO of Foundation Fighting Blindness. “Jean, Albert, and Katherine’s pioneering work with LUXTURNA® transformed what is possible for patients and families affected by these diseases. From early Foundation-supported research in 1991 to FDA approval and now global recognition, their work demonstrates how sustained investment in science can lead to life-changing treatments. As we celebrate this milestone, we remain committed to supporting the next generation of researchers working to bring more therapies to our community.”